Daring to be different

Four-wheel-drive and space for four adults: It’s a Ferrari, but not as we know it, other than the 335km/h top speed, V12 engine and price tag that’s likely to leave little change from $900,000.

The radical Ferrari FF is the latest in a line of niche vehicles stepping way outside traditional brand boundaries. They have included a Porsche four-seat luxury sedan, a four-cylinder Aston Martin city car based on a Toyota and, soon, a two-wheel-drive pint-sized Range Rover.

No, the automotive world hasn’t gone crazy, but it is desperately trying to fill newfound niches – and even create them.

“It’s a clear indication of the growth of the upper end of the wealth market,” says Edward Rowe, public relations manager for local Ferrari importer European Automotive Imports. “There are more people with more money who are looking for more individual high performance cars.”

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While even the wealthiest people appear happy with an iPhone or Blackberry, when it comes to cars it’s different. Cars inevitably make a statement and can be an extension of someone’s personality, even if it’s just that the driver doesn’t care about cars.

Such market fragmentation has increased the number of vehicles on offer, with manufacturers often combining parts from various models into a new design.

The Volkswagen Group, for instance, shares components across brands as diverse as Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti. It’s the automotive equivalent of Mexican food – the same basic ingredients presented in different ways.

Ferrari 4WD

Often they’re answers to questions no one has asked, but buyers are increasingly demanding something unique and a car that doesn’t conform to the historical norm of a wagon, sedan or 4WD.

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A decade ago Porsche shocked the world by announcing it would build an off-roader, a car that’s now its best seller. It was followed by a luxury limousine designed to capitalise on a shift to high performance luxury.

Aston Martin has even designed a frugal city hatchback based on a humble Toyota, although it’s more about helping the iconic British sports car maker achieve tough new fuel economy regulations than showing its softer side for compact city transport. Don’t expect James Bond to be queuing up for the keys.

And while BMW rocked the off-road boat with its polarising X6 four-door “coupe”, Nissan is taking the whole SUV concept a step further with plans for a convertible version of its Murano wagon.

The push to diversify has also occasionally caught out regulators who like to define each category of car.

When Ford’s Territory arrived in 2004 it was the first off-road style wagon sold here that only drove two wheels on some models, prompting the adoption of the American term SUV, or sport utility vehicle.

Ferrari’s radical FF – of Ferrari Four – is claimed to comfortably accommodate four people in a hunchbacked two-door that is longer than Australia’s best-selling vehicle, the Commodore large car.

It sends power from its V12 to all four wheels. It’s also tipped to eventually be offered with a petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain.

While it’s not designed to trudge across the outback, the Ferrari FF will no doubt be popular in snow-covered areas for millionaires who want to blast to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds.

“What has become very clear over the past decade or so is that Ferrari owners want to be able to use their cars over a much wider range of conditions so it’s not a car you just take out once a week,” says Rowe.

“With this car, the combination of the space, flexibility and 4WD system means it is just as happy doing a track day as it is going on a skiing holiday to the Snowy Mountains.”